Four Blue Jays Land on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospect List

Daniel Norris 7

Daniel Norris
Daniel Norris

 

As you can see, it’s Top Prospect list season and Baseball America came out with their Top 100 list tonight and featured four Blue Jays.

 

 

Before we get to the Top 100 from BA, I’d like to direct fans to a great podcast on Fangraphs in which Kiley McDaniel talks about his Top 200 list. If you want to skip the chat about college pitcher Carson Fulmer, start it around 14:00 or so.

 

So, Byron Buxton was displaced from the top spot on another list by Cubs’ power hitting third baseman Kris Bryant and four Blue Jays entered the top-100 for yet another list. The names should be familiar by now with Daniel Norris landing at #18, Aaron Sanchez at #27, Dalton Pompey at #30 and Jeff Hoffman at #69.

 

Any surprises? Not really. Oh, and the other name who’s getting a lot of attention as being one of the Jays’ top prospects is catcher Max Pentecost who, according to J.J. Cooper, was one of 15 players who just missed out on making the Top 100.

 

Expanding on their tremendous coverage, BA also broke down the tools for each of the Top 100 prospects. Norris got a 60 grade for his fastball, a 60 for his slider, a 50 for his curve and another 60 for his changeup while coming in at 50 for his control. Compare this to McDaniels’s list over at Fangraphs and he ranks the curve at a 60 future value and the changeup much lower at 50+.

 

Sanchez gets a 70 grade for his fastball with 60s for his curve and changeup with just a 40 grade for his control. McDaniel was a little more generous with the command (45+ FV) and less generous for the changeup (50+).

 

For Dalton Pompey, his rating was 55 for the hit tool, 50 for power, 60 for speed, 70 for defense and 55 for his arm, getting much higher consideration across the board than on Fangraphs where McDaniel gave him a 50+ for the hit tool, 45 for raw power, 60 for running, 55 for defense and 45+ for his arm. Obviously, with a much higher ranking (#30) and better scores for his tools, Baseball America has a higher opinion of Pompey than McDaniels does (where he was ranked 80th).

 

Hoffman, who no one has seen since the college season ended was given 60s on his fastball, curve, changeup and control with a 50 on his slider. At Fangraphs, Hoffman earned a 70 for the fastball, 65 for the curve, 55 for the change and 50+ for command.

 

Former Blue Jays making the list include Noah Syndergaard (#11) and Franklin Barreto (#89) while the Blue Jays also drafted (but didn’t sign) Kris Bryant (#1) and Aaron Nola (#39). Jameson Taillon (#29) and Pompey are both Canadians (despite Taillon having been born in the US).

 

How do you think Baseball America did?

 

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